The process for the catalytic synthesis of methanol from a raw gas which mainly contains CO, CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 usually comprises three sections, namely the cracking of natural gas to raw gas, compression of the raw gas to the required synthesis pressure and the catalytic synthesis itself. Intense heat (e.g. 700.degree.-1200.degree. C.) is required for cracking the natural gas. Then the raw gas must be cooled to ambient temperature (20.degree.-40.degree. C.) in order to be compressed from approx. 10-30 bar to approx. 50-150 bar, the compression equipment requiring a large amount of energy. The subsequent catalytic synthesis of methanol proceeds at medium temperatures (200.degree.-300.degree. C.) and yields cooled gas and condensed methanol. In order to maintain a permissible inert gas level in the synthesis loop, a certain amount of loop gas is continuously purged from the loop. This gas, known as purge gas, contains a considerable amount of combustible energy carriers such as CO and H.sub.2 and is purged from the loop via a relief valve and incinerated at a low pressure in the cracking furnace. Although, with the methanol process described above, the energetical relations between the cracking, compression and synthesis processes are balanced, energy management in, and the reliability of, the compression section have so far been neglected. The heat of compression was thus completely dissipated to the cooling water and stand-by cooling water pumps had to be provided to ensure effective inter-stage and final cooling of the synthesis gas.